BEDBUGS

Common Form:
Bedbugs (cimex lectularius)

Importance:
Bedbugs are associated with human habitation. They hide in furniture and structural cracks and crevices. They emerge at night when hungry to search for blood meals and can ingest up to seven times their own body weight during a meal. Bedbugs are not known to be serious carriers of disease but they do cause unpleasant irritation following their bite. In rare cases the bites can cause a serious allergic reaction.

Where there is a heavy infestation of bedbugs there is a distinctive odour. Lodging houses, hostels and hotels are a particular risk as bedbugs can be carried on luggage. Second hand furniture is also another source of infestation.

Control:
Control is achieved by thorough treatment with residual insecticide. Cracks, crevices and all other harbourages should be treated to ensure successful eradication.